Pakistan not concerned whether India diverts water or not

ISLAMABAD: India threatens Pakistan to stop its water flow from the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej to Pakistan. In response Pakistan said that they are not concerned if New Dehli diverts its water from eastern rivers. India has already with drawl the most favored nation (MFN) status to Pakistan and increased the duty import up to 200 percent.

This all is due to the Pulwama attacks in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), where a suicide bomber killed more then 40 CRPF troop on 14th of February. Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) a terrorist organization has claimed the attack but India accuses Pakistan for the incident.

Talking to a local news channel secretary of Pakistan’s Ministry of Water Resources Khawaja Shumail said that “We have neither concern nor objection if India diverts water of eastern rivers and supplies it to its people or uses it for other purposes, as the IWT (Indus Waters Treaty) allows it do so.” he added “But we will definitely express our concerns and raise objections strongly if they use or divert waters of western rivers (Chenab, Indus, Jhelum) on which our right to use prevails,”.

Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Mehr Ali Shah said that its up to India now as the IWT has already given a right to India in 1960 to use the water of eastern rivers. Whether they diverted and used their unutilised share of eastern rivers’ waters in 1960, we had no problem. They want to do it now, we have no problem. And if they don’t want to use this, we have no issue,” he added.

A Pakistani delegation headed by Syed Meher Ali Shah visited India from Jan 28 to Feb 01 and inspected the on going hydro power projects. Before the Pulwama attack, India shared the design of its three planned run-of-the-river hydro power schemes with Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty.